Sailing Magazine
by Richard Crockett
This, from the report written by the Yachtsman RSA scribe indicates that this was a typical Durban regatta with winds of all strengths from all directions. The first day being one of those tough Durban days as described in the report with these wonderful words: “Pressures on. Mouth dry as the Sahara Desert. The first 16’s tear around the weather mark off onto a reach which fills a wetsuit with high pressure water, and blows the wax from your ears.
“Gybe into what appears to be 100 foot swells and reach off to the leeward mark.
The Colliers ‘whoosh’ and then pitchpole, Dodds loses his trapeze harness whilst Whitehead bores his way from the tens towards the front. Paarman is still in the lead. Down to the leeward mark where pushing·out onto trapeze is an achievement against the natural G-forces trying to fling you over the transom.”
With 119 entries broken down into 78 Hobie 16s and 41 Hobie 14s, this was a great event worth reading about.
READ THE YACHTSMAN RSA REPORT HERE: hobie – 1980 08 – Yachtsman RSA – OCR
READ THE SA YACHTING REPORT HERE: hobie – 1980 08 – SA Yachting – OCR
